Mackere shows up, in gray baggy clothes, and I haven't even eaten anything after getting home from the store. Ange hasn't either, but he comes along too, to see what Mackere's friend group that knows signing is like.

And also Ange had to keep running the store while Parro went to their adoption class so Ange missed the first half of it so why bother showing up to the second half, but he doesn't feel like staying home alone tonight, so he comes with us.

We swim down to the Teardrops of the Volcano, almost lazily, signing/talking the whole way. Ange signs about having to make up the adoption class, how Anemon hasn't yet said anything about how the art gallery went, and how Hamme had to stop a fight between two of his city painting crew kids. He asks Mackere how Sta is doing, Mackere says something aloud and signs, "bed," she says someone's mom always invites her to these gatherings but this time she actually has a reason to come, so maybe "friend" group that knows signing isn't totally true.

We swim down to the city, but only halfway--we go to a street of little houses all painted gray. Mackere leads us between the homes, points at the dolls and shells scattered around the mud from some children's playtimes. But the further up the street we go there's fewer play things. She takes us to the side of a spotless house, where there's tens of round tables staked into the mud, with dishes of fish and rice and centerpieces of coral arranged haphazardly on fluttering yellow-green tablecloths.

Only one table has anybody sitting around it--a girl with yellow-green fins, staring at her lap; and someone I assume is her mother--color like slightly faded kelp--who spots us and smiles.

Mackere waves. So does Ange. I stare between the strangers in their seats, I stare at the tables, I stare at the gray house swaying on its anchor ropes.

Mackere leads us to the table, at the back of all the other tables, she and the mother start talking, I bend my fingers back and forth, hover above the mud. The girl doesn't look up, but she's younger than me, probably still in school.

"Hi," Ange signs and says aloud to her, sinking to one of the five open stools around the table, "my name's Ange," he says aloud, spelling it out and doing the quick fin-flutter motion Parro and I use to refer to him.

The girl with yellow-green fins glances up, over to her mother, then to Ange. "Hi," she signs.

I sit beside Ange, hooking my ankles around the rough stool legs.

"What's your name?" Ange asks.

"Opalin," she spells, and does a finger-flicking motion. She stares at me, and I shift on the slightly tilted stool. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nudibranc," I spell and do the palm sweeping motion Parro and Ange refer to me with.

"So what's this event about?" Ange signs. "Our friend," he points at Mackere, who's still talking to the mom, "brought us here, but she's not in the loop about today's details."

In what loop?

Opalin's gaze flicks to Mackere, then sinks on me again. "My mom and our neighbors throw a banquet anytime any of us do anything vaguely remarkable. It's sickening."

Ange's hands stutter. "That's...nice?"

Opalin shrugs.

So it's a banquet for vaguely remarkable things. "What's this one for?" I sign.

"Surgeo," she spells and signs the name with a finger-cutting motion, "across the street got a halfway decent score on his music test. Because he can't hear, his dad was all like, let's throw a dumb party!" Opalin stares past me. "Speaking of," she motions, and Ange and I twist around. A pair of people--wearing all black, with pale orange fins sticking out below the shoulders--paddle across the street towards the tables. The shorter one waves at us, and I start to wave back but Opalin barges over the table to the pair, waving both hands--so they weren't waving at me, actually.

Skin prickling, I lower my hand. I turn back around. Mackere and the mom are chuckling about something, but staring at each other, not me. Ange's frowning at Opalin's receding feet and doesn't seem to have noticed either. "I guess we know the same signing?" he asks. "Either that..."

"Is she rude?"

"I am definitely not here to make judgments on people," Ange signs close to his body. "But maybe let's pretend our signing is slightly different from hers. Anything mean she says, is actually just a misinterpretation of the best compliment ever."

That doesn't make sense, but I nod.

Ange says something aloud to Mackere. She nods back and says something else. The mom leans closer, hands clasped. Ange signs/says aloud, "Mackere told us about this a few days ago and invited us."

"That's fantastic," the mom shows her teeth. "We're always eager for new guests."

Mackere moves into the stool beside me, chin in her hands.

"How'd you know about this?" I ask her.

Her eyes go half-lidded. "What?"

I poke Ange, but he's signing to Opalin's mom how good the food looks, pointing to the pristine bowl in front of him loaded with scoops of rice.

"You...were here," I motion around at the tables, at Opalin and the pair near the front of the big teardrop house, "before. Why?"

She slowly nods. "I lived there," she points vaguely past Ange. "School."

"You lived here for school?" I ask.

Mackere hesitantly nods.

The mom signs at us, "Mackere's family was our neighbors for years! Mackere went to school with Opalin's older brother and Barreley," she flashes her teeth. "Things haven't been the same since they moved."

"Oh," I sign. Wait I made that sign up.

"So you know each other!" Ange signs/says aloud. "How long did you guys live here?"

Mackere shrugs. Signs "years," but says something longer than that.

"Hold on, I'll be right back," Opalin's mom gets up from the table, paddling toward a newly arrived trio of people, in bright red and orange shirts that clash their yellow-orange fins.

Mackere waves at them too. "That's..." she hesitates, and says something aloud to Ange.

"Barreley," Ange spells for me, "and his wife, and her friend."

Mackere nudges me and winks, pointing to the one in the brightest red shirt. "Date."

My swim bladder sinks. Barreley's wife's friend?

But her shirt clashes with her fluttery fins.

She's smiling at the tables, signing something so fast about rice that I don't catch most of it; everything she's doing is fast and sharp and intimidating.

I bend my fingers back and forth. "I don't think I like her."

Mackere tilts her head at me. Ange's voice vibrates from my other side, then Mackere purses her lips. "Already?" she shakes her head, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up. My ankles tip the stool over in my wake but she drags me off and I can't fix it.

I stare back at Ange but he's just signing "good luck" after us, teeth showing, leaving my stool sideways in the mud.

My heart jitters, Mackere brings us up to Opalin's mum, Barreley, his wife, and her friend. I pull my wrist away. "Hi," Mackere waves, gazes at the girl with the bright red shirt. "This is my friend, Nudibranc."

The girl flashes her teeth and waves.

I wave back, heart jittering. "What's your name?"

"I'm Marli. Hi, Nudibranc, how'd you meet Mackere?"

I glance over. Mackere's talking to the mom and Barreley's wife, laughing.

"We...my brother has friends and one of them is Mackere's girlfriend."

Marli nods.

Oh. Rules about talking to people; I'm supposed to ask her a question now. "Um," my brain goes blank.

"What's her girlfriend's name?"

"Sta."

"Nice," she flashes her teeth, "I haven't met any Sta."

"So what are you here for?" I ask.

She tilts her head, and my stomach flip-flops. "It's not every day the dear deaf club gets together for a banquet. I had to come. What about you? Why'd Mackere drag you here, I haven't seen her at these for years."

I shiver. "Mackere made me come find a date. Because...deaf club," I shrug.

Marli covers her mouth, but laughing vibrations still tumble out. "Good luck finding anyone single here. Even Surgeo's taken," she points off at the pair of people in black clothes (Surgeo and his dad?) talking with Opalin, and I sink slightly lower in the water. "Wait, who's that guy back at that table?" she points, and I twist around. I wiggle my ankle fins; she means Ange.

"That's my brother's boyfriend."

Marli laughs again. "He's taken too?"

"Oh. Yeah," my skin prickles hot. "So...your..." your shirt clashes with your arms. Your signing is mostly the same as mine but sometimes you do things with the opposite hands as me which no one in my family does. You're here for a banquet. You're not single? But Mackere told me to talk to you. Your--

"Girlfriend's at home. In bed with a fever."

I sink slightly lower. It's okay, I didn't like her clashing shirt or fast long arms or her big smile that much anyway. "That's..."

"Unfortunate, yes, I will probably be sick within a week. And I'm actually probably spreading illness at this banquet, but it's the dear deaf club! I wasn't going to miss that for a little fever," she pats her cheeks, gills on her neck opening like a totally calm person's. "But I don't feel any fever yet!"

"Oh," I paddle so I don't sink into the mud. "Yeah."

"So I hope I don't get you sick!"

"Same to--"

Mackere grabs my arm and I startle. She wiggles her eyelids and waves at Marli, then drags me back to Ange, alone at the table. "How is she?" Mackere flashes her teeth, sinking into a stool.

I pick my stool back up. I sit down. I glance over; Marli's talking to Opalin's mom now like we didn't leave in the rush it felt like we did.

"She has a girlfriend sick in bed and is probably going to get everyone here sick too."

Ange laughs.

"What?" Mackere signs. Ange says something aloud, and Mackere's jaw falls open. "My bad."

"This is awkward," Ange signs.

"No date," Mackere signs. "My bad."

I push the bowl of fish in front of my seat away from me; the scent is making my stomach growl.

Ange and Mackere talk, vibrations bouncing around my head. The coral centerpiece on our table is a pink-orange thing shaped too much like four splayed fingers.

Opalin's mom darts across the table and I jump. She sits in the seat across from me, smiling, hands already moving, "I noticed you talking with Marli--such a shame about her, isn't it?"

I blink. That Marli's going to get sick?

"She could've had such beautiful babies."

My heart drops--she thinks Marli's going to die? Wait, no, fever's don't kill people...I blink. What?

"She seems like quite the nice friend for Barreley and--" she does a sign name involving the letter E but doesn't spell the name "--though."

"Hey, I want to visit Mackere's old house," Ange signs/says aloud. "So I think we'll hurry and do that before the banquet starts," he quirks a lip at Mackere, and she slowly nods.

Opalin's mom nods, leaning back. "Of course. We're still waiting for everyone to show up, so you won't miss anything. Thank you again for coming!"

Ange grabs my wrist and drags me up, I barely unhook my ankles from the stool so I don't knock it over again. Mackere swims after us, eyes half-lidded. Marli waves from a table, I wave back, Mackere shouts something at Barreley or his wife or both. We swim past all the tables, I pull my wrist free of Ange's grip but I nearly bump into Surgeo's dad coming around the front of the house, "my bad," he signs, and flutters around me to sit between Surgeo and Opalin at a table with a many-branched coral centerpiece in a tiny metal pot.

Where is Opalin's older brother? Is he coming to this banquet? I glance around the mostly empty tables but the only yellow-green finned people are Opalin and her mother.

Ange grabs my wrist again and pulls me into the street, the gray house blocking the tables and people. I pull my wrist free again. Mackere stares between us, eyes half-lidded. Her voice vibrates. The gray house sways and Ange shakes his head.

"What?" I sign to Ange.

He signs/says aloud, "where's your old house, Mackere? I don't want to explain here."

Mackere hesitantly points up the street. Ange nods, and paddles away. Mackere and I slowly follow.

"What?" Mackere signs to me.

I shrug.